Combination light and cigar cutting blade

ABSTRACT

A combination light and cigar cutting blade that includes a housing having a first housing piece and a second housing piece that mates with the first housing piece when the housing pieces are assembled; a light source disposed in said first housing piece; at least one battery coupled with the light source; a switch mounted on the first housing piece coupled with the light source and battery, and having opposed positions for either activating the light source or turning the light source off; a cutting blade having an annular cutting blade surface; and an activating button mounted on the second housing piece for operating the cutting blade between a nested position in which the cutting blade is disposed within the second housing piece, and an extended position in which the cutting blade is extended from the second housing piece.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to a combination of a lightsource with a cigar cutting blade. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a two-piece housing for respectively supporting thelight source and cutting blade.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There presently exists prior art relating to different types of cuttingblades as they particularly relate to cigars. However, these cuttingblades are usually associated with a cigarette or cigar lighter.Presently, there is no device that exists that is a combination of acigar cutting blade and a light source.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide such acombination light source and cigar cutting blade.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the aforementionedcombination in a housing arrangement that enables ready activation ofthe light source as well as means for controlling transition of thecutting blade between nested and extended positions.

SUMMARY

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the disclosure, as illustratedin the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the disclosure. The principles and features of thisdisclosure may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. To accomplish the foregoingand other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionthere is provided a combination light and cigar cutting blade,comprising: a housing including a first housing piece and a secondhousing piece that mates with the first housing piece when the housingpieces are assembled; a light source disposed in said first housingpiece; at least one battery coupled with the light source; a switchmounted on the first housing piece coupled with the light source andbattery, and having opposed positions for either activating the lightsource or turning the light source off; a cutting blade having anannular cutting blade surface; an activating button mounted on thesecond housing piece for operating the cutting blade between a nestedposition in which the cutting blade is disposed within the secondhousing piece, and an extended position in which the cutting blade isextended from the second housing piece; and a guide member fixedlysupported in said second housing piece, said guide member for guidingthe cutting blade between the nested and extended positions.

In accordance with other aspects of the present invention the housingpieces are assembled by means of a threaded connection therebetween;including an end cap secured to the second housing piece at a locationopposite to the first housing piece; the end cap is threaded to thesecond housing piece and includes a loop for receiving a fastener ring;including a biasing spring disposed in the second housing piece forbiasing the cutting blade to its nested position; the spring is a coilspring that surrounds the guide member; the second housing piece has acenter chamber in which is disposed the guide member, spring and part ofthe activating button; the activating button includes a base and abutton; including an o-ring disposed about the base and providing aninterface between the button and a sidewall defining the chamber; theguide member includes a center disposed t-shaped bar, and a coil springdisposed about the t-shaped bar; including a first screw for attachingthe t-shaped bar to a cross wall in the second housing piece and asecond screw forming an end rest for one end of the coil spring; and thebase forms a second opposed end rest for the opposite end of the coilspring.

Also, in accordance with the present invention there is provided acombination light and cigar cutting blade, comprising: a housingincluding a first housing piece and a second housing piece that mateswith the first housing piece when the housing pieces are assembled; alight source disposed in said first housing piece; at least one batterycoupled with the light source; a switch mounted on the first housingpiece coupled with the light source and battery, and having opposedpositions for either activating the light source or turning the lightsource off; a cutting blade having an annular cutting blade surface; anactivating button mounted on the second housing piece for operating thecutting blade between a nested position in which the cutting blade isdisposed within the second housing piece, and an extended position inwhich the cutting blade is extended from the second housing piece; andan end cap secured to the second housing piece at a location opposite tothe first housing piece.

Other aspects of the present invention including a guide member fixedlysupported in said second housing piece, said guide member for guidingthe cutting blade between the nested and extended positions; theactivating button includes a base and a button; including an o-ringdisposed about the base and providing an interface between the buttonand a sidewall defining the chamber; the guide member includes a centerdisposed t-shaped bar, and a coil spring disposed about the t-shapedbar; including a first screw for attaching the t-shaped bar to a crosswall in the second housing piece and a second screw forming an end restfor one end of the coil spring; the base forms a second opposed end restfor the opposite end of the coil spring.

Finally, in accordance with the present invention there is provided acombination light and cigar cutting blade, comprising: a housingincluding a first housing piece and a second housing piece that mateswith the first housing piece when the housing pieces are assembled; alight source disposed in said first housing piece; at least one batterycoupled with the light source; a switch mounted on the first housingpiece coupled with the light source and battery, and having opposedpositions for either activating the light source or turning the lightsource off; a cutting blade having an annular cutting blade surface; anactivating button mounted on the second housing piece for operating thecutting blade between a nested position in which the cutting blade isdisposed within the second housing piece, and an extended position inwhich the cutting blade is extended from the second housing piece; aguide member fixedly supported in said second housing piece, said guidemember for guiding the cutting blade between the nested and extendedpositions; wherein the housing pieces are assembled by means of athreaded connection therebetween; including an end cap secured to thesecond housing piece at a location opposite to the first housing piece;wherein the end cap is threaded to the second housing piece and includesa loop for receiving a fastener ring; including a biasing springdisposed in the second housing piece for biasing the cutting blade toits nested position; wherein the spring is a coil spring that surroundsthe guide member; wherein the second housing piece has a center chamberin which is disposed the guide member, spring and part of the activatingbutton; wherein the activating button includes a base and a button;including an o-ring disposed about the base and providing an interfacebetween the button and a sidewall defining the chamber; wherein theguide member includes a center disposed t-shaped bar, and a coil springdisposed about the t-shaped bar; including a first screw for attachingthe t-shaped bar to a cross wall in the second housing piece and asecond screw forming an end rest for one end of the coil spring; andwherein the base forms a second opposed end rest for the opposite end ofthe coil spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It should be understood that the drawings are provided for the purposeof illustration only and are not intended to define the limits of thedisclosure. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of theembodiments described herein will become apparent with reference to thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view taken in the opposite direction at thecutting blade end of the device with the cutting blade in its nestedposition;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to that shown in FIG. 2 but withthe cutting blade in its extended position;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the device illustrated inFIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view like that shown in FIG. 5 but with thecutting blade in its extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention. Descriptions of specificembodiments and applications are provided only as examples and variousmodifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thegeneral principles defined herein may be applied to other embodimentsand applications without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus the present invention is to be accorded the widest scopeencompassing numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalentsconsistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. Forpurpose of clarity, details relating to technical material that is knownin the technical fields related to the invention have not been describedin detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention

Reference is now made to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1-3 whichillustrate the combination light and cigar cutting blade at 10. Fordetails of the device, refer to the exploded perspective view of FIG. 4and the two cross-sectional views of respective FIGS. 5 and 6. Thedevice 10 is comprised of a two-piece housing including a first housingpiece 12 and a second housing piece 14. These housing pieces may bethreaded together such as illustrated in FIG. 5 at 15. At the end of thehousing piece 14, remote from the housing piece 12, there is an end cap16. The end cap 16 is also preferably threadedly engaged with thehousing piece 14 as illustrated in, for example, FIG. 5 at 17. The endcap 16 is provided with an integral flange 18 to which may be attached akey ring structure illustrated at 20 in the drawings.

A distal end of the housing piece 12 is open for receiving a lightsource 22 disposed in this opening. The light source 22 is preferably anLED that is activated by means of depressing the activation button 24.The housing piece 12 is substantially hollow and thus has sufficientroom to house the LED source 22 as well as the switching mechanismassociated with the button 24. Also, the larger housing piece 14 issubstantially hollow with an intermediate wall 19 separating the housinginto two separate compartments. One compartment houses a series ofbatteries such as illustrated in FIG. 5 at 25. These batteries may bestacked in series and complete a circuit with the button 24 for eitherturning the LED light on or off. The button 24 would be biased to itsextended position keeping the light source off but may be depressed asshown in FIG. 5 in order to complete the circuit between the battery andthe light source for illuminating the light source. Within the housingpiece 14, on the side of the wall 19 opposite to the batteries 25, isdisposed the cutting blade mechanism.

With further reference to the details illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, there isillustrated the cutting blade in the form of an annular cutting blade30. FIGS. 2 and 5 illustrate the cutting blade 30 in its nestedposition, while FIGS. 3 and 6 illustrate the cutting blade 30 in anextended and locked position. The cutting blade 30 is annular in shapehaving a circular cutting surface at 32 and a base 34 that is supportedat the sliding mechanism for transitioning of the cutting blade. Thismechanism includes a slide switch 40 mounted on a base 42. Theactivating button 40 or slide switch is mounted on the housing piece 14for operating the cutting blade between a nested position in which thecutting blade is disposed within the housing piece, as illustrated inFIG. 5, or an extended position in which the cutting blade is extendedfrom the housing piece 14, such as illustrated in FIG. 6. Thus, the base34 of the cutting blade 30 is fixed with the base 42 of the activatingbutton 40. An O-ring 46 is disposed between the base 34 and the base 42.The O-ring is adapted to slide on an inner surface 47 of the internalchamber formed within the housing piece 14. Thus, the O-ring 46 alsofunctions as an outer guide for the transitional movement of the cuttingblade 30.

FIGS. 5 and 6 also illustrate a guide member 50 which is a t-shapedmember. The base 52 of the guide member 50 is secured to the wall 19 bymeans of a screw 54. The guide member 50 also includes an elongated arm56 that extends concentrically within the hollow chamber of the housingpiece 14. The elongated arm 56 extends through the base 42 andconcentrically relative to the annular cutting blade 30. A second screw58 is secured at the end of the elongated arm 56.

One or more coil springs 60 are disposed about the arm 56. At one end,the coil springs 60 are abutted up against the head of the screw 58. Atthe other end of the coil springs 60 they rest against a ledge providedin the base 42. The one or more coil springs 60 bias the activatingbutton 40 to the left as viewed in FIG. 5. Thus, the coil springs 60normally bias the cutting blade to its nested position as illustrated inFIG. 5.

In order to transition the cutting blade between the nested and extendedpositions, the knob 40 is constructed and arranged so that it passesthrough a slot 64 in the housing piece 14. The slot 64 may have agenerally u-shaped configuration including separate slots 68 and 69 asdepicted in FIG. 4. These separate slots are for securing the cuttingblade in respective nested and extended positions. Thus, the slotstructure 64 has a somewhat longer slot 68 where the knob is positionedin the nested position, as well as a second shorter length slot 69 wherethe knob is positioned and supported in the extended or in-use position.As mentioned previously, the springs 64 are positioned between thehousing piece and the guide member 50 for normally biasing the cuttingblade to its nested or retracted position.

In use, the punch-style cutting blade 30 is activated by a user graspingthe knob 40 and moving it within the slot structure 64 from the firstslot 68 to the second slot 69 so that the cutting end is moved from theretracted position where it is preferably substantially flush with thebottom end of the housing piece 14 to the operative or cutting positionwhere it extends from the housing piece 14. Once the knob is supportedin this second slot 69 so that the cutting end is extended, the user caninsert the cutting end into the closed end of the cigar, so as to“punch” or cut a hole in the closed end of the cigar.

Having now described a limited number of embodiments of the presentinvention, it should now be apparent to those skilled in the art thatnumerous other embodiments and modifications thereof are contemplated asfalling within the scope of the present invention, as

What is claimed is:
 1. A combination light and cigar cutting blade,comprising: a housing including a first housing piece and a secondhousing piece that mates with the first housing piece when the housingpieces are assembled; a light source disposed in said first housingpiece; at least one battery coupled with the light source; a switchmounted on the first housing piece coupled with the light source andbattery, and having opposed positions for either activating the lightsource or turning the light source off; a cutting blade having anannular cutting blade surface; an activating button mounted on thesecond housing piece for operating the cutting blade between a nestedposition in which the cutting blade is disposed within the secondhousing piece, and an extended position in which the cutting blade isextended from the second housing piece; and a guide member fixedlysupported in said second housing piece, said guide member for guidingthe cutting blade between the nested and extended positions; an end capsecured to the second housing piece at a location opposite to the firsthousing piece, the end cap having an end wall and a peripheral sidewall;a flange integrally attached to the sidewall of the end cap; and a ringstructure held by the flange.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein thehousing pieces are assembled by means of a threaded connectiontherebetween.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein the flange isU-shaped having opposite ends that connect to the peripheral sidewall ofthe end cap.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the ring structure iscircular.
 5. The combination of claim 1 including a biasing springdisposed in the second housing piece for biasing the cutting blade toits nested position.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the spring isa coil spring that surrounds the guide member.
 7. The combination ofclaim 6 wherein the second housing piece has a center chamber in whichis disposed the guide member, spring and part of the activating button.8. The combination of claim 1 wherein the activating button includes abase and a button.
 9. The combination of claim 8 including a ring memberdisposed about the base and providing an interface between the buttonand a sidewall defining the chamber.
 10. The combination of claim 9wherein the ring member comprises an o-ring, the guide member includes acenter disposed t-shaped bar, and a coil spring disposed about thet-shaped bar.
 11. The combination of claim 10 including a first screwfor attaching the t-shaped bar to a cross wall in the second housingpiece and a second screw forming an end rest for one end of the coilspring.
 12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the base forms a secondopposed end rest for the opposite end of the coil spring, and the secondhousing piece has a u-shaped slot with adjacent slots for receiving thebutton in opposed respective nested and extended positions.
 13. Acombination light and cigar cutting blade, comprising: a housingincluding a first housing piece and a second housing piece that mateswith the first housing piece when the housing pieces are assembled; alight source disposed in said first housing piece; at least one batterycoupled with the light source; a switch mounted on the first housingpiece coupled with the light source and battery, and having opposedpositions for either activating the light source or turning the lightsource off; a cutting blade having an annular cutting blade surface; anactivating button mounted on the second housing piece for operating thecutting blade between a nested position in which the cutting blade isdisposed within the second housing piece, and an extended position inwhich the cutting blade is extended from the second housing piece; andan end cap secured to the second housing piece at a location opposite tothe first housing piece; wherein the first housing piece has a bulletshape including a sidewall and a free end having an opening forreceiving the light source so that light emanating therefrom is directedopposite to the second housing piece; wherein the switch is mounted atthe sidewall of the first housing piece.
 14. The combination of claim 13including a guide member fixedly supported in said second housing piece,said guide member for guiding the cutting blade between the nested andextended positions, said first housing piece tapering from a largerdiameter end at the second housing piece to a smaller diameter end atthe free end, the switch including a base disposed within the firsthousing piece and an actuation button, the sidewall having an aperturethrough which the switch actuation button extends.
 15. The combinationof claim 13 wherein the activating button includes a base and a button.16. The combination of claim 15 including a ring member disposed aboutthe base and providing an interface between the button and a sidewalldefining the chamber.
 17. The combination of claim 16 wherein the ringmember comprises an o-ring, the guide member includes a center disposedt-shaped bar, and a coil spring disposed about the t-shaped bar.
 18. Thecombination of claim 17 including a first screw for attaching thet-shaped bar to a cross wall in the second housing piece and a secondscrew forming an end rest for one end of the coil spring.
 19. Thecombination of claim 18 wherein the base forms a second opposed end restfor the opposite end of the coil spring.
 20. A combination light andcigar cutting blade, comprising: a housing including a first housingpiece and a second housing piece that mates with the first housing piecewhen the housing pieces are assembled; a light source disposed in saidfirst housing piece; at least one battery coupled with the light source;a switch mounted on the first housing piece coupled with the lightsource and battery, and having opposed positions for either activatingthe light source or turning the light source off; wherein the firsthousing piece has a bullet shape including a sidewall and a free endhaving an opening for receiving the light source so that light emanatingtherefrom is directed opposite to the second housing piece; wherein theswitch is mounted at the sidewall of the first housing piece; a cuttingblade having an annular cutting blade surface; an activating buttonmounted on the second housing piece for operating the cutting bladebetween a nested position in which the cutting blade is disposed withinthe second housing piece, and an extended position in which the cuttingblade is extended from the second housing piece; a guide member fixedlysupported in said second housing piece, said guide member for guidingthe cutting blade between the nested and extended positions; wherein thehousing pieces are assembled by means of a threaded connectiontherebetween; an end cap secured to the second housing piece at alocation opposite to the first housing piece, the end cap having an endwall and a peripheral sidewall; a flange integrally attached to thesidewall of the end cap; a ring structure held by the flange; includinga biasing spring disposed in the second housing piece for biasing thecutting blade to its nested position; wherein the spring is a coilspring that surrounds the guide member; wherein the second housing piecehas a center chamber in which is disposed the guide member, spring andpart of the activating button; wherein the activating button includes abase and a button; wherein the guide member includes a center disposedt-shaped bar, and a coil spring disposed about the t-shaped bar;including a first screw for attaching the t-shaped bar to a cross wallin the second housing piece and a second screw forming an end rest forone end of the coil spring; wherein the base forms a second opposed endrest for the opposite end of the coil spring and the second housingpiece has a u-shaped slot with adjacent slots for receiving the buttonin opposed respective nested and extended positions.